With Europe’s summer rush only weeks away, outsourcing giant VFS Global has issued a nationwide advisory urging Indian applicants to begin Schengen, UK, US and Canada visa filings as early as six months before departure. The company reports that appointment slots for May–August are already 40 % fuller than last year, driven by pent-up demand and a weaker rupee that is fuelling ‘travel now, pay later’ instalment schemes.
A parallel surge in fraudulent appointment brokers has accompanied the demand spike. VFS says it has taken down more than 120 fake social-media handles and phishing sites this month alone. The firm reminds travellers that appointment booking on its official portal is free, and that it never asks for payments over WhatsApp or UPI.
Meanwhile, travellers who prefer an end-to-end online alternative can tap VisaHQ’s India portal, which offers document pre-screening, real-time status alerts and dedicated support for both individual and corporate travellers. The platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) covers Schengen, UK, US and Canadian visas among others, giving HR teams an additional, fraud-free channel to navigate the current appointment crunch.
![VFS Global Warns Indian Travellers to Apply Early and Avoid Visa Fraud Ahead of Peak Season]()
For mobility managers, the guidance is clear: build a 12-to-14-week buffer into assignment timelines for Europe and North America, and insist that employees use only corporate e-mail IDs when creating visa profiles so that HR can monitor status updates.
VFS also recommends that group travel organisers stagger submissions rather than block-booking contiguous slots, which can trigger bulk-booking flags and subsequent cancellations by consulates. Companies caught using touts risk blacklisting, which can derail future missions.
Finally, applicants should watch for VFS’s pilot ‘video-interview’ queue-bypass service—rolling out first in Mumbai and Bengaluru—that lets premium-tier travellers record biometric-quality videos from home before a courier collects their passports. Although pricey, the service could shave days off application lead times for C-suite executives.
A parallel surge in fraudulent appointment brokers has accompanied the demand spike. VFS says it has taken down more than 120 fake social-media handles and phishing sites this month alone. The firm reminds travellers that appointment booking on its official portal is free, and that it never asks for payments over WhatsApp or UPI.
Meanwhile, travellers who prefer an end-to-end online alternative can tap VisaHQ’s India portal, which offers document pre-screening, real-time status alerts and dedicated support for both individual and corporate travellers. The platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) covers Schengen, UK, US and Canadian visas among others, giving HR teams an additional, fraud-free channel to navigate the current appointment crunch.
For mobility managers, the guidance is clear: build a 12-to-14-week buffer into assignment timelines for Europe and North America, and insist that employees use only corporate e-mail IDs when creating visa profiles so that HR can monitor status updates.
VFS also recommends that group travel organisers stagger submissions rather than block-booking contiguous slots, which can trigger bulk-booking flags and subsequent cancellations by consulates. Companies caught using touts risk blacklisting, which can derail future missions.
Finally, applicants should watch for VFS’s pilot ‘video-interview’ queue-bypass service—rolling out first in Mumbai and Bengaluru—that lets premium-tier travellers record biometric-quality videos from home before a courier collects their passports. Although pricey, the service could shave days off application lead times for C-suite executives.
